The chemomechanical response of a material at the nanoscale is dependent upon the environment that it is in, though there is not experimental instrumentation that allows for the quantitative tensile testing of a material in conjunction with nanoscale imaging/diffraction characterization under environmental conditions. A liquid can influence a material's fracture toughness, friction, wear, elastic and plastic deformation. Fracture toughness can be affected through chemical dissolution of atomic bonds at surfaces and high stress regions such as crack tips. The liquid and gasses can also change the surface charge, and therefore the surface energy of the material, which will influence fracture toughness through the Griffith relationship. Friction and wear rates can be modified due to the influence of liquid lubrication and surface passivation. A change in surface energy can also influence plastic deformation through affecting the motion of charged defects, e.g., dislocations. Additionally, both elastic and plastic deformation can be influenced by diffusion of ionic species into the lattice.
Presently, there is a need for a micro- and nano-scale device that enables fundamental studies of many important technological issues, including stress-corrosion cracking, electrode performance under stress, mechanical property characterization of biomaterials at physiological conditions, nanotribology, and chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP). To fully understand these processes at the fundamental level, a nanoscale relationship between the structure under environmental conditions and the resultant mechanical properties must be characterized in real time.